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Walking Commentary

Thoughts and cycling from Manchester to Rome in 2023

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A Vegetarian Year

July 29, 2020 by Simon Robinson Leave a Comment

Caveat emptor: my musings may not be complete let alone correct.

My first year as a vegetarian year has passed quickly and comfortably. We took How Not To Die very seriously and this excellent cookbook makes regular appearances on the kitchen counter even now.

You probably realise that wine, beer, bread and blue cheese exist because of fungal agency. Having met these big four, you’ll recognise that the benison of yeasts and spores is unobtrusively vital to our everyday lives. You have learned to avoid the yeasts and moulds of decay because the mycotoxins have a well deserved bad reputation. Good fungus, bad fungus. A sad fact you may not know is that fungus kills more humans than malaria (I’ll let you search for fungal diseases alone).

[Read more…] about A Vegetarian Year

Filed Under: Fake Memoir Tagged With: booklink, fungus, michael greger‎, pandemic, photos, rueben meerman, vegetarianism

Brief Encounters: 2002

July 28, 2020 by Simon Robinson Leave a Comment

So, this is journal number 150 and I’m wondering if Siena is a nice place to visit. We’d have spent last night there and be walking down the last eleven days to Rome if not for the pandemic. Our plan had us continuing along the Via Francigena, reaching Ponte d’Arbia tonight where we’d planned to rest for our weekly day off. I think we’d have stayed a second night in Siena instead. I’ll try to remember this for next year, assuming waves of pandemic and panic won’t prevent us trekking from Manchester to Rome in 2021.

There’s a letter regarding life insurance on the counter this morning. It includes a Covid alert that seems strangely inappropriate on a renewal notice.

Trout Fishing in Utah in October 2002.
[Read more…] about Brief Encounters: 2002

Filed Under: Anchoritism, Fake Memoir, ManRom2021 Tagged With: booklink, colin tudge, fishing, green belt movement, insurance, life expectancy, nobel prize, photo, travel, trees, utah, walking, wangri maathi

Brief Encounters: 1979

July 27, 2020 by Simon Robinson Leave a Comment

February 1979 (or 1399)

Another Joe. This Joe was probably once a soldier. Perhaps he became a spook. I’ve met a few active spooks over the years and they don’t advertise. Perhaps they join you for a fun run to places that are restricted for diplomats. Perhaps you accompany a friend in a city of refugees to meet a brother from ‘the’ agency. Perhaps a casual central Asian street acquaintance wasn’t so casual. Perhaps this colleague in a security arrangement really did formerly work where he said.

The spooks ask questions. They probe for information. This Joe asked such questions.

We met in an oilfield services club in Sharjah. We only ever met the once and spent no more than a few hours together over a few drinks and I’ve not forgotten him.

The future Sharjah wasn’t quite ready yet. But I had a nice motorbike.
[Read more…] about Brief Encounters: 1979

Filed Under: Fake Memoir Tagged With: 1979, sharjah, the troubles, travel, uae, zakum

Brief Encounters: 1976

July 26, 2020 by Simon Robinson Leave a Comment

August 1976

The hitchhiker on the outskirts of Ballyshannon was a large man and cleanly dressed. Tall, broad-shouldered under sun-bleached hair behind an engaging smile, he looked interesting by the standards of the day. That was once the way that drivers assessed hikers. Would they be interesting to talk with? Today we might put safety first and rarely offer a lift to a stranger.

He put his back-pack in the boot and we drove north towards Donegal Town.

Most hitchhikers I’d encountered had been continental European or Kiwi. This Joe was American and I was enjoying the cartoonish drawl of his Georgian accent. We got on well enough that I suggested a pint and a sandwich as I dropped him to wait at the bus stop for Killybegs.

The view east across southern Lough Eske 1976 (scanned from a negative)
[Read more…] about Brief Encounters: 1976

Filed Under: Fake Memoir Tagged With: 1976, buncrana, donegal, fleadh ceoil, geology, glencolumbkille, lough eske, music, photo, ptsd, the troubles, travel

Saturday Pencil Blues

July 25, 2020 by Simon Robinson Leave a Comment

Saturday started badly. I had a bad night’s sleep and then the TV locked up before we could watch the breakfast news. I was already grumpy and my coffee mood boost was still in the cup when there came a glitch that became a technology challenge.

I should explain that we have a streaming service that provides our ‘terrestrial’ TV. It’s a service that comes bundled with our broadband via a DSL router and a set-top box. We’d surrendered a satellite service once we lost sight of the satellites beyond the growth of neighbouring trees. Copper wire transmission was all that was available as replacement. Indeed, our road is only now being upgraded with suitable fibre-optic connections.

I was watching a small holding farmer tend to a flock on our willow tree …
… this day six years ago.
[Read more…] about Saturday Pencil Blues

Filed Under: Anchoritism, Fake Memoir Tagged With: bobby kerr, booklink, Covid-19, haim ofek, leonard reed, matt ridley, newstalk, photo, technology, tv

Three Links

July 24, 2020 by Simon Robinson Leave a Comment

Burglar: a story involving sleep where we used to sleep.

Methane: an article about a hidden threat.

DNA: a disease mitigation hint from genetics.

Each of these links that came via my email in the last 24 hours. I thank my suppliers for the food for thought and absolve them from blame for my derivative musings.

The iPhone found Six Optimists Becalmed and Betowed in Scotsman’s Bay
while the optimist in me hopes for similarly good outcomes.
[Read more…] about Three Links

Filed Under: Anchoritism Tagged With: burglar, Covid-19, douglas adams, gaia, hydrates, james lovelock, lia mills, malaria, photo

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